1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of wagering games and games of chance.
2. Background Art
Wagering games and games of chance come in many varieties and can be categorized in many ways. At one end of a spectrum are somewhat pure games of chance such as lotteries, bingo, and the like in which outcomes are generally immune to the influence of any applied skill. Next are wagering games based upon outcomes of contested events, such as wagering on horse races, dog races, and even mainstream professional and college sporting events. While these wagering games are in one sense pure chance, in another sense, research into the history and skill of the event participants and the contest conditions could provide an advantage to a person wagering on the outcome, introducing a skill element to these games.
A popular genre of wagering games and games of chance are poker card games. There are numerous types of poker which themselves fall along different points of the spectrum of chance and skill. Straight poker, in which each player receives five cards face down without the opportunity to draw or exchange cards, is largely a game of chance and bluffing. Open or stud forms of poker, in which some of a player's cards are face up, are also a games of chance and bluffing, although each player has access to more information about a competing player's hand. In contrast to these, draw forms of poker admit of more skill and strategy than straight and open forms, as a player is typically allowed to change the composition of his hand in the course of play by discarding some cards and receiving new cards.
The continuing popularity of wagering games and games of chance, from poker to lotteries, offers opportunities for new games of chance, wagering, bluffing and skill. It is against this background that Mr. Carl Eller has invented the present wagering game.